# Taylor Budowich Longtime Trump political operative who has become the bridge between the January 6 "[[Stop the Steal]]" movement and the AI industry's political spending machine. Currently leads the [[Innovation Council Action]], a $100M AI industry super PAC for the 2026 midterms, endorsed by [[David Sacks]]. ## Background - Born November 3, 1990, Sacramento, California - Attended American University in Cairo; evacuated during 2011 Egyptian revolution - Early career: interned for Rep. Doris Matsui, Sacramento mayor - Rose through [[Tea Party Express]] (spokesperson → communications director → executive director by 2014) - Senior communications adviser for [[Ron DeSantis]]'s 2018 gubernatorial campaign - Worked closely with [[Donald Trump]] Jr. and [[Kimberly Guilfoyle]] ## January 6 Role Budowich was a key figure in the financial and promotional infrastructure behind the January 6, 2021 Capitol rally: - **Directed $200K+ in advertising** — solicited a 501(c)(4) nonprofit to run social media and radio ads encouraging attendance at the January 6 Ellipse rally and promoting false election fraud claims - **Dark money funnel**: The $200K was sourced from undisclosed donors and funneled through a dark-money nonprofit. The money was traced back to **[[Julie Jenkins Fancelli]]** (Publix supermarket heiress) - **[[January 6 Committee]]**: Subpoenaed alongside [[Roger Stone]] and [[Alex Jones]]; initially cooperated then stopped - **Lawsuit**: Sued the January 6 committee to block access to his bank records (JPMorgan Chase) - **Lost**: Judge rejected his effort to retrieve financial documents from the committee ## Trump Inner Circle Career | Period | Role | |--------|------| | 2020 | Trump campaign spokesperson; adviser to Trump Jr. | | 2021 | Spokesperson for [[Save America PAC]] | | 2022 | Executive Director of **[[MAGA Inc.]]** — the main Trump super PAC | | 2024 | Ran MAGA Inc. + founded **Securing American Greatness** (dark-money nonprofit arm) | | Nov 2024 | Named Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications and Personnel | | Sep 2025 | Left White House | | Mar 2026 | Named leader of **[[Innovation Council Action]]** | ## The AI Industry Pivot Budowich's move from Trump's inner circle to AI industry lobbying represents a new phase in tech-political capture: - **[[Innovation Council Action]]**: $100M super PAC for 2026 midterms, supporting pro-AI/anti-regulation candidates - **[[David Sacks]]** (Trump's former AI/Crypto Czar) endorsed the group - Brings total AI industry 2026 election spending to nearly **$300M** (combined with Leading the Future's $125M and other AI PACs) - Trump allies were reportedly "irked" that earlier tech PACs (like Fairshake) weren't exclusively promoting MAGA candidates — the Innovation Council is designed to fix that - Currently organized as a nonprofit: **not required to disclose donors** or file with FEC ## Significance Budowich is the human conduit between two of the most powerful forces in American politics: Trump's MAGA operation and the AI industry's lobbying machine. His career trajectory — from Tea Party operative to January 6 ad buyer to Trump Deputy Chief of Staff to $100M AI PAC leader — illustrates how the same dark-money infrastructure that funded the "Stop the Steal" movement is now being repurposed to advance AI industry deregulation. The fact that the AI industry chose a January 6 operative to run its political operation reveals the depth of the alignment between Big Tech and MAGA.